The Death Of Marketing
I want you to watch this video.
Unfortunately, you’ll see right atop the page that this clip has been revealed as a hoax. But before it was removed from YouTube, the first time I saw it I thought it was real. Almost. Before forwarding it to anybody, I did some Googling and came up with this page:
And now, you can see, from the original link, that yes, this is a complete fabrication.
The question arises, was Kanye’s interruption of Taylor Swift at the VMAs planned, was it a stunt concocted by MTV and Kanye to boost ratings and the artist’s profile?
I don’t think so. First of all, Kanye apologized, which he never ever does, and he seemed to evidence true remorse on Jay Leno.
But my inbox says otherwise.
The public has been manipulated so many times, that when something extraordinary happens, that becomes instantly viral in our networked world, many people cross their arms and say not fucking real.
Who’d blame them? What with Borat and Eminem at the previous MTV awards show.
Sure, the ratings for the VMAs were comparatively good, up from last year. But isn’t focusing on the immediate bottom line, going for instant results, what fucked up not only the music industry, but the whole economy?
You can’t have it now. Maybe at McDonald’s, but not in music. An act has to suck before it gets good. Unless it’s not really an act, and there are professionals behind the scene pulling the strings. Ever since J. Lo, no one believes you need to have talent to make it. J. Lo couln’t sing. Now Jay-Z raps about auto-tune and there’s even an iPhone app. So the public might like the actual track, but has no belief the underlying act has any merit. As proven with Ms. Lopez. After her moment, driven by expensive, sexy videos, her career fell off a cliff, she couldn’t sell a record and couldn’t perform live. Oh, that’s right, she couldn’t really perform live to begin with!
They say that the public is cynical… But not as cynical as the string-pullers. Manipulating ad infinitum to the point where the public just isn’t buying. They’ll purchase that Shaggy tune, but Universal couldn’t see it was a novelty, that there were no Shaggy fans. There are no fans of almost any of those charting singles.
In order to truly make it today, you’ve got to be honest, you’ve got to have the goods, which have been honed over years. Otherwise, you’re just another scammer trying to make a buck. And the public knows. Major media companies are complaining about the audience, the mistrust involved. Well, if you were manipulated so many times would you still play along?
Reality TV is no longer about reality, but seeing how misfits behave in the midst of other misfits or money-whores. If you think reality TV has a long shelf life left, you believe Miley Cyrus instantly sells out every gig. Networks manipulated reality, to make it even more palatable, more sexy, killing the essence in the process.
If you want to make it today, focus on marketing last. And know that online, greatness spreads. Could take a while to catch fire, but if you’re great on a sustained basis, you’ll make it. Although making it might mean being known by a coterie, not everybody, and having one house, not three, still…who’s entitled to all that? The days of more, more, more are over. It’s just that those in the media haven’t realized it yet.
